Former Grand Slam champions Roger Federer and Andy Murray headline the marquee in the first round of Davis Cup this weekend. Among the eight ties scheduled, Federer and Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka lead Switzerland into combat against Serbia who are without Novak Djokovic.

“I always kept a tiny door open and I am glad to be here,” Federer said. “Playing here is something I was excited about when I left Australia. I spoke to team captain Severin Luthi and Stan, we talked about it and the decision was made pretty quickly.

“My priority is to win tomorrow’s match and I am looking forward to the entire weekend but not much further than that. I don’t want to think too far ahead. We have a chance but this is a year-long competition and there is plenty of time.”

Meanwhile, Murray is in San Diego where he’ll anchor Great Britain’s hopes against team USA. The reigning Wimbledon champion is expected to play all three days against a USA team without John Isner who withdrew. Isner will be replaced by Donald Young who will make his Davis Cup debut.

“I obviously want to win as many matches as possible,” Murray said. “I’ll try to win as many points as I can. If I’m required to play all three days I’ll give it my best shot.

“I’m feeling fine,” Murray said of his back. “I’ve been surprised by the recovery. It’s a long process, it’s hard, it’s challenging mentally to come back from a surgery but I’ve trained hard and have done all the right rehab.”

Another intriguing tie sends Italy down to Argentina where Seppi/Fognini will clash with Berlocq/Monaco on the red clay in a very even matchup. And teen sensation Nick Kyrgios will join Lleyton Hewitt as Australia travels to Europe to take on a very deep French team.

Davis Cup Notes (ITF):

Czech Republic v Netherlands – Ostrava, CZE – hard (indoors)
Head-to-head: Czech Republic leads 4-1
Two-time defending champion Czech Republic begins the defence of its title with a home tie against Netherlands. Czech Republic is looking to extend its nation-record winning streak to 10 straight ties, while newly promoted Netherlands will hope to cause a huge upset and reach the World Group quarterfinals for the first time since 2005.

Japan v Canada – Tokyo, JPN – hard (indoors)
Head-to-head: Japan leads 5-0
Canada faces a testing trip to Tokyo as last year’s semfinalist bids for its first win over Japan on their sixth meeting. The two teams are meeting for the first time since 1938, with Canada looking for just its third World Group win since the formation of the elite tier in 1981 and Japan bidding to reach the World Group quarterfinals for the first time.

Germany v Spain – Frankfurt, GER – hard (indoors)
Head-to-head: Germany leads 9-6
Germany will be hoping to spring an upset when the nation plays host to 5-time champion Spain in Frankfurt. Germany is looking to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2011, but will have to stop a Spanish side that will be determined to avoid suffering back-to-back first round defeats for the first time since 2005-06.

France v Australia – La Roche sur Yon, FRA – clay (indoors)
Head-to-head: Australia leads 10-4
France hosts Australia, who returns to the elite 16 nation pool after six years in Zone Group action, looking to reach the quarterfinals for the fifth consecutive year. France has lost 10 of its 14 meetings with Australia but will hope to narrow the deficit in their previous head-to-heads and deny the visitors a spot in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2006.

USA v Great Britain – San Diego, USA – clay (outdoors)
Head-to-head: USA leads 11-7
USA opens its 100th year of Davis Cup competition against Great Britain in San Diego, the first meeting between the two teams since 1999. USA leads the head-to-head 11-7, but the visiting nation will be determined to reach its first World Group quarterfinal since 1986.

Argentina v Italy – Mar del Plata, ARG – clay (outdoors)
Head-to-head: Argentina leads 1-0
Argentina will look to preserve its record of reaching the quarterfinals or better every year since returning to the World Group in 2002 when it takes on Italy in Mar del Plata. Italy reached the quarterfinals for the first time since 1998 last year, however, and will be keen for a repeat performance this year.

Kazakhstan v Belgium – Astana, KAZ – hard (indoors)
Head-to-head: first meeting
Kazakhstan is looking to reproduce the kind of form that saw it reach the quarterfinals for a second time last year when the nation hosts Belgium in Astana. Belgium is bidding to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2007, having lost in the first round in 12 of its 15 previous appearances.

Serbia v Switzerland – Novi Sad, SRB – hard (indoors)
Head-to-head: tied 2-2
Since the World Group was introduced in 1981, at least one unseeded nation has always reached the quarterfinals with a record four doing so in 1987 and 2005. This is the 34th year of the World Group.

Roger and Wawrinka make a powerful combination. I am sure with their fire power they can certainly take Switzerland to the glorious path of a historic Davis Cup triumph, a feat which has so far eluded Roger and his team mate. Infact I am surprised that this wonderful team couldn’t make much headway earlier despite their weightage. Perhaps the absence of one of the two in previous encounters bogged it down.

This indeed could be Roger’s year on Davis Cup, if he and Wawa fully commit to it.

Djoko probably won’t favor DC this years nor will Nadal. Ferrer may have his last decent year, his rankings already started to fall so Spain and Serbia will not be the same force as both Nadal and Djoko will most likely fight for #1 second semester.

With Spain and Serbia both down 2-0 it is unlikely either will advance, although bizarre unlikelihoods do occur. The two next most dangerous teams – reigning champs Czech Republic and France are both on the other half of the draw, so yes it should be a cakewalk to the final.

If Switzerland meets the Czechs in the final Federer should make sure his twin daughters are in the stands. Their presence should distract Stepanek. :)

The wild card in the top half is Canada, who is 1-1 against Japan, despite playing Dancevic and Polansky in place of injured Raonic and Pospisil. You have to favour Canada in the doubles – Nestor and anyone should beat a weak Japanese pair, so this will probably go down to the 5th Ruben of Polansky vs Soeda. If Canada gets through this they could be tough in 3 months, when Raonic and Pospisil are healthy again.

Well done Madmax. Your tenacity when dealing with Princess Giles is beyond admirable.
In the Swiss line up for photographs Roger accidentally clocked Stan with his elbow. Much hilarity in the studio plus an embarrassed Fed.
Goes without saying that attendance at US v GB appalling. Even Australia v France not full but a least a good atmosphere. Don’t know about others as no coverage.

Wow! James Ward stepped up (after Sam Querrey crumbled a bit) to win the 2nd point for team GB. What a comeback. Will this be the most dismal result for team USA in recent memory? A shocker. I’m glad I’m not really into doing the nationalistic support thing – I’d be depressed.

Federer playing has suddenly breathed life into the Davis cup. It would have been much more awesome if Djoker played too. Imagine Federer- Djoker in Serbia with the tie at 2-2. Djoker has played and beaten the Swiss in Basle, so it’s only fair he gets to play him in Serbia!

A few years back Rafa invited James Ward to train with him in Majorca. Maybe Rafa saw some potential in James even back then? James is a great guy. Let’s hope he takes some encouragement from his performance yesterday. Awesome!

Keith Nishikori and Yasutaka Uchiyama just beat Daniel Nestor and Frank Dancevic from Canada. Japan lead 2-1. And if they win on Sunday, they will be in quarter final. Historic for the asian. So proud…. come on Japan!!! Rolls in.

Donald Young has had an illustrious career or lack of career. He actually has a decent bit of talent but was given Too much too soon and became a bit of a brat. He has actually worked his way back up the rankings a bit by winning a bunch of challengers. Anyway, while he was talented he was not a hard worker and has not loved up to what he was hyped to be as a junior. As a result the American tennis media and commentators rag on him endlessly as I am doing as well in this blog

Lol skeeze, that’s the trouble with irony on the internet. It just gets lost in the ether!
@ kimberly
Like the DA, I was not interested in whom Andy was playing, could’ve been numero 777 for all I care. I was just interested in how Andy was moving- and he looked good :)